Acute surgical, traumatic, and disease-related pain is generally treated with one or more analgesic, or pain-relieving, drugs. Selection of the most suitable drug or drug combination is based on the anticipated severity of pain, the pet’s overall health, and the specific drugs helpful for the species. For more extensive injuries or disease-related tissue damage, analgesics from more than one drug class are often prescribed.

Principles of Pain Management

Because signs of pain can be subtle and difficult to recognize, animals suspected of being in pain are usually treated and watched for improvement.

Continuous (round-the-clock) administration of pain medication is often more effective at relieving pain than using an “as-needed” dosing schedule. For as-needed dosing to be an effective method of pain management, the animal must be one that shows pain behaviors and the caregiver must be able to recognize these behaviors.

Many animals benefit from treatment with combinations of different types of analgesic drugs, rather than just one type.

When analgesic drugs are prescribed in combination, a smaller-than-usual dose of each can usually provide adequate pain relief.

Animals in pain can also have anxiety, so a veterinarian might prescribe an antianxiety drug for use after analgesic drugs have been given.

Adequate pain relief after surgery or trauma allows the animal to rest. Dogs and cats often sleep more than usual for a few days after surgery, but a caregiver should be able to wake them up if the dosage of the analgesic drug is appropriate. If your pet cannot rest or cannot be awakened, call your veterinarian for reassessment.

If pain-relief medication is given consistently for several days, the dose should be decreased gradually rather than stopped abruptly.

Reducing your pet’s stress and providing all-around good care will maximize the benefit of the pain treatment regimen. Housing conditions, diet, and level of interaction with other animals and people should be tailored to the individual. For example, separating a pair of dogs that enjoy playing vigorously together might be stressful for the dogs under normal circumstances. But temporarily separating the dogs after one has had surgery (to allow the incision to start healing) is less stressful for the recovering dog if the human caregivers spend enough time interacting with it. Managing animals that are under stress and in pain requires a combination of good nursing care, nondrug methods (for example, bandaging, ice packs or heat, and physical therapy), and drug treatments.

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Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, NJ, USA is a global healthcare leader working to help the world be well. From developing new therapies that treat and prevent disease to helping people in need, we are committed to improving health and well-being around the world. The Merck Veterinary Manual was first published in 1955 as a service to the community. The legacy of this great resource continues as the Merck Veterinary Manual in the US and Canada and the MSD Manual outside of North America.